Side-by-side vehicles (SSVs) are off-road vehicles used for recreation and utility purposes. SSVs generally have an open cockpit area with side-by-side seating for a driver and a passenger. In a conventional SSV, a portion of the engine and/or a fuel tank is typically disposed partly in the cockpit area in order to reduce the overall size of the SSV as it is intended to be used in off-road situations where they may need to maneouvre around obstacles such as rocks, trees, and the like. This however also reduces the amount of space available in the cockpit area which could otherwise be used for additional passengers or for storage of cargo. Whether used for recreational or for utility purposes, it is however, desirable to increase the passenger carrying capacity as well as the cargo storage capacity of these vehicles without significantly adding to the size and/or weight of the vehicle.